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With thanks to @Artaxerxes and @KingCrawa for much help on this

Prolgoue:

584AD
Asuka, Nihon

It was a cold, still day in the capital and Emperor Bidatsu was sat studying a butterfly as it sat on a branch in the palace gardens. He noted the pattern on its wings as it held them still. Then as he adjusted his weight the butterfly flew off and Bidatsu followed it until it was out of fight. It was soon gone from his mind, the wind was starting to pick up and he was getting cold so made his way back onto the buildings of the palace.

The Channel between Francia and Kent


The wind was starting to pick up around the small ship and Bertha, daughter of Charibert of Paris was starting to ponder the skill of the ships captain. Her mother and cousin Chilperic had paid the crew handsomely and she hoped it would pay off. She excused herself from her chaplain, Luidhard and walked across the deck to the captain, a rough looking Saxon or Jutish man, or Angle, she wasn’t sure. He wore a simple pendant around his neck that showed he was a pagan, if she saw her mother again she would have to have strong words. Bertha immediately reached for the cross she wore around her neck, the captain saw it and forced a smile. “Between my gods and your Christ we’ll make it through this storm,”

“There is only my god, captain.” She said, struggling to speak over the wind and waves which grew bigger and bigger by the minute. “Is it perhaps worth travelling back to Neustria?” she added, grappling with the language. She’d have to learn it sooner or later, she had figured, if she was to marry Aethelbert of Kent, and she was.

“No, my lady, we’ll make it through, we’ve made it through worse,” One god or another seemed to smirk at this statement as a wave crashed over the side of the boat, hitting captain off his feet and into Bertha. They both slid across the deck as the ship rocked side to side. The captain grabbed hold of Bertha’s arm but already it was slick with water and she fell from his grasp and slide down the deck. He watched helpless as the Frankish princess tumbled over the edge of the ship and into the water. He prayed to the gods, and perhaps to her Christ too that she might survive, and if not, that he wouldn’t join her. (1)


(1)The initial PoD. Bertha went on to become queen consort of Kent and was an early voice for Christianity when she was married to the pagan King Aethelbert (who later converted) her children would go on to help convert Northumbria to Catholic Christianity)
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